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Get Up To Speed on Fast & Furious 9
If Fast & Furious 9’s hyper-kinetic first trailer told us anything, it’s that the cars ‘n’ espionage franchise has no intention of slowing down or parking its bigger, better, barmier approach to the series’ signature set pieces.
And so, with Vin Diesel and the rest of the Fast Saga family flipping the switch on a NOS tank of blockbuster escapism on 8 July 2021, let’s get you up to speed with some fantastic fast knowledge.
What is Fast & Furious? Fast Saga overview
Even if you’ve never actually seen a Fast & Furious movie, you’ve almost certainly glimpsed enough of the blockbuster franchise’s posters to know it’s got something to do with car culture. You may even know its (fictional) roots are in LA’s modding and illegal street racing scene. But eight main movies in, to say that the Fast Saga’s all about excessively tuned cars is like saying The Lord of the Rings is all about a piece of jewellery – sort of true but massively missing the point once you get invested in the story.
The fact is, after the first three Fast & Furious films – The Fast and the Furious (2001), 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003) and The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006) – stuck to the underground racing theme like freshly warmed Yokohamas on asphalt, 2009’s Fast & Furious effectively rebooted the Fast Saga. What emerged from the shop was a glossy, globe-trotting spy/heist movie centred around the first three films’ coalescing crew of petrolhead misfits, led by gravel-voiced Vin Diesel as Dominic Toretto.
It was a genius move, and ever since the Fast Saga picked its lane as Bond-lite with heart, humour and fat exhausts; it’s been unstoppable.
What is Fast and Furious 9 about? Fast and Furious 9 plot
Fast & Furious 8 (The Fate of the Furious – 2017) introduced Charlize Theron as Cipher, a particularly ruthless cyber hacker and criminal mastermind who wasn’t just scheming to hijack a Russian nuclear sub and hold the world’s leaders to ransom but had also been pulling the strings behind the Shaw brothers’ villainy in Fast & Furious 6 and 7.
Cipher was defeated at the end of the Fate of the Furious, but remained at large and was, according to Dom and the crew’s main government contact, Mr Nobody (Kurt Russell), chilling in Athens. But rather than assemble a collection of supercars and head to Greece, it seemed like the Toretto gang were content to see out the credits having another barbecue with their nearest and dearest.
At the start of F9, Cipher has eventually been arrested but is clearly not one to let bygones be bygones. Worse still, she’s only gone and recruited an assassin by the name of Jakob Toretto (John Cena) to help spring her from prison and get her revenge on Dom. And that would be ‘Toretto’ as in Dom’s hitherto never mentioned younger brother! Gasp!
When is Fast and Furious 9 coming out? Fast and Furious 9 release date
With global events creating a sizable tailback for film releases, Fast & Furious 9 has seen its original release date pushed back a few times, but it’s finally got its SatNav working again, has picked an off-ramp and is due at ODEON on 8 July 2021.
Is there a Fast and Furious 9 trailer?
Yes! In fact, there are two: the original trailer and a Superbowl trailer. Both showcase the film’s cast of old, new and returning characters, some truly breathtaking set-piece stunts, beautiful international locations (including lush Ko Pha-ngan in Thailand and, um, Hatfield), and a couple of truly what-the-fudge moments – Dom’s rope bridge swing in a car, and what looks like a car getting pulled off the road and through a building by a vehicle equipped with powerful electromagnets! You can see both trailers right here.
Who is the bad guy in Fast and Furious 9? Fast and Furious villains
Fast and Furious 9 has two main villains in the mix: the first is Jakob Toretto (John Cena), Dom and Mia’s brother; and the second is Cipher (Charlize Theron) the cold-hearted cyberterrorist who almost succeeded in breaking Dom away from his loyal crew in the Fate of the Furious. They’re working together and, while Cipher definitely wants revenge on the Toretto crew for thwarting her nuke-happy plans in the last film, we suspect she and Jakob have a bigger scheme than simply getting Dom back.
How is Han alive in Fast and Furious 9? What happened to Han .
When Han Lue’s gorgeous orange and black Mazda MX7 got T-boned at the end of The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006) – ending in what looked like a terminal fireball – there wasn’t a dry eye in the house.
Happily for Han fans, the Fast Saga architects realised what they’d done and decided to shuffle Tokyo Drift’s position in the series chronology, setting its events sometime after the end of Fast & Furious 6. This enabled them to bring Han back in 2009’s Fast & Furious, Fast 5 and Fast & Furious 6.
However, Fast & Furious 6’s mid-credits sequence seemingly settled Han’s account, showing that what had looked like an accident in Tokyo Drift was actually the handiwork of a vengeful Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham), thereby setting up the events of Fast & Furious 7.
But there is Han in the Fast and Furious 9 trailer, very much alive and surprising the heck out of Dom and crew with a breezy, “Nice clubhouse’. But how? Is he a cyborg (unlikely)? Is he Han’s twin (also called Han)? Did he pay Shaw to help him stage his death for some as yet unfathomable reason? We’re going with that one.
What cars are in Fast and Furious 9? Fast 9 cars and vehicles
Car spotting in the Fast Saga films is all part of the fun and the trailers for Fast and Furious 9 do not disappoint. Here are the cars, bikes and one tractor that we’ve glimpsed so far:
- Massey Ferguson 165 tractor
Dom, Letty and their little boy, Brian, are seen fixing it up. - 1970 Dodge Charger R/T
Dom’s classic, black muscle-car from the first film appears to be back. - 1968 Dodge Charger 500 (mid-engine)
Another of Dom’s. The mid-engine configuration is a bespoke customisation. - 2020 Hellcat SRT Widebody Charger
Dom is driving this snarling beast of modern American muscle during the film’s jungle chase. The ‘Hellcat’ refers to Dodge’s high-performance, supercharged engine. - 1974 Chevrolet Nova SS
This gorgeous piece of metal is driven by Letty during the armoured truck heist sequence. It’s also the car Mia poses in front of in her F9 poster. - Yamaha YZ450F
Letty loves her bikes and she rides this Motocross beauty in the jungle chase. At least until she gets knocked onto the bonnet of Dom’s car. - 2020 Toyota Supra
Toyota’s pocket rocket has an illustrious history in the Fast Saga. Brian tuned one to take on Dom in the first film, and this brand-new model sports the same orange and black paint job as Han’s Mazda RX7 from Tokyo Drift. - 2020 Jeep Gladiator
In the Fast and Furious 9 posters, Roman Pearce poses in front of a lifted Jeep Gladiator. He drives this rugged-as-heck off-roader during the jungle chase, too. - Noble M600
Befitting another British original, an achingly gorgeous purple Noble M600 is driven with consummate skill by Magdalene Shaw, with Ramsey riding shotgun. - 2020 Jeep Gladiator
In the Fast and Furious 9 posters, Roman Pearce poses in front of a lifted Jeep Gladiator. He drives this rugged-as-heck off-roader during the jungle chase, too. - 2018 Acura NSX
Giving an insider nod to his 1991 Acura NSX NA1 from 2 Fast 2 Furious, Tej’s ride in Fast and Furious 9 is this low, sleek and understated update of the Honda family’s flagship sports car. - 2015 Ford Mustang GT350
Jakob Toretto may be a villain but he’s got great taste in muscle cars. He’s seen driving it around Edinburgh and the jungles of Thailand. - 1984 Pontiac Fiero (with rocket propulsion)
We’re not 100% sure why Tokyo Drift’s Sean Boswell and Earl have strapped rocket motors to the top of an ‘80s Pontiac that allegedly had an unfortunate reputation for catching fire, but Tej doesn’t look very impressed.
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